Psych clinic killer gets four years prison

By Maxime Zech on May 20, 2014 - 15:41

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A 27-year old patient from the Vrederust psychiatric clinic in Halsteren has received a prison sentence of 4 years, as well as involuntary psychiatric treatment. The court in Breda convicted Mark L. on Monday for killing another patient in the clinic in October last year.

The culprit stabbed the victim, and tried to suffocate him by covering his mouth with his hand. He buried the body in the forest, close to the clinic. He has confessed.

It is unclear what the motive was for the manslaughter. L. suffers from several personality disorders, and criminally insane.

According to the Algemeen Dagblad, the victim and killer still smoked a cigarette shortly before the incident. No reports of a dispute were given, so there is still the question of what drove L. to suddenly kill a co-patient.

L.'s lawyer stated that his client was unhappy about the treatment at the clinic. L. earlier told that he had easy access to drugs in the clinic. This is why the surviving relatives want to hold the GGZ Western North-Brabant accountable. The Public Health Inspectors (IGZ) will also investigate the safety in the clinic, which says there was no way to see this coming.

The victim's surviving relatives demanded €20,000 from the culprit, but the court only allocated €5000.